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- F. W. H. COLLETT MATTRESS SIDE STITCHING MACHINE Original Filed Ap i 1919 11 Shuts-Sheet 6 15,555 5 1927' F. w. H. COLLETT Re MATTRESS SIDESTITCHING IACHINE Original Filed April 14. 1919 11 Sheets-Sheet r-'b.22, 1927. Re. 16,555

F. w. H. COLLETT I ATTRBSS SIDE STITCHING MACHINE 4 Original Filed April14, 1919 11 Sheets-Sheet 1o @MMKWWWJ Feb. 22, 1927. Re. 16,555

F. w. H. COLLETT v MATTRESS SIDE STITCHING MACHINE Originail Filed Apr 1l9 ll Sheets-Sheet 11 fzyerzfir Fade/ 20% W15. 6' aZZeZZ Rama] Feb. 22,1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK W. H. COLLETT, DECEASED, LA'IE F CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS; BYSIMMONS COMPANY. ASSIGNEE, OF KENOSHA, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION 01!DELAWARE.

MATTRESS-SI'DE-STITCHINQ MACHINE.

Original No. 1,342 423, dated June 8, 1920; Serial No. 290,005, filedApril 14, 1919. Application for reissue filed June 30, 1921. Serial No.481,710.

This invention relates to a mattress side stitching machine. the objectof the invention being to produce an organized machine forside-stitching mattresses The purpose of what is known as sidestitchingis to connect the fabric or covering around the sides of the mattresswith the stuffing of the mattress from pointto point in order to keepthe sides approximately Square or to prevent them from bulging under theexpansive action of the mattress stufling.

In some cases what is known as roll-edge side-stitching is used in whichthe fabric around the sides of the mattress is engaged by thread ortwine extending, diagonally through the stuffing and through the topsurface fabric of the mattress in one line of stitching; and through theside surface, stuffing. and lrottom surface in another line ofstitching. Thusso long as the stitching holds properly it keeps thecorners or lines of junction of the side surface with the top and bottomsurfaces square. I

The side-stitching has usually been performed by a hand operation with acontinuous length of twine or thread which is passedby a needle throughthe side surfaces from point to point and engaged with the stufiing, orwith the stufiing and the top or bottom surface fabric as the case maybe, leaving a short length of the twine showing on the fabric betweenadjacent needle holes through which the twine passes to the inside ofthe mattress. If such continuous twine or line of stitching'becomesbroken at any point it loosens the entire seam which soon becomesineffective for retaining the mattress in proper shape or condition.

Other features of the invention are an improved knot-tying mechanism; animproved method of, and apparatus for concealing the knot in theinterior oftthemattress. an improvedmethod of and means for severing theends of twine protruding from the mattress after the. knot has beentied. and an improved mattress-making apparatus so organized as topermit of the insertion of mdividual tles into a mattress to produce aroll edge. 'The practicing of t lie improved process and the use of theimproved machine is designed to produce a mattress having importantfeatures of novelty and advantage over the prior art.

The present invention is embodied in an organized machine for sidestitching ad'a ted to produce side-stitching of the roll-e ge type inwhich the side surface fabric is connected from oint to point with thetop surface fabric iiy'one line of stitching, and from point to pointwith thebottom surface fabric by another line of stitching, thecharacter of the stitching being however, different from that resultingfrom the continuous running twine as applied to the usual handstitching.

In the operation of the machine herein shown and described as anembodiment of the present invention the side surface fabric of themattress is tied to the top or bottom surface fabric at given points by'loops of the twine or thread. the ends of which are tied together by aknot, in this instance of the kind known as a weavers knot. the knotbeing drawn through the fabric to the inside.

of the mattress so that nothing shows upon The machine forming thesubject of the present invention comprises a stationary table or holderfor the mattress. and a traveling stitching. including knot tying, mechanism. mounted for movement on a suitable guideway, and acted upon by asuitable feed mechanism which advances the stitching mechanism fromstitch to stitch along the side of the mattress on the mattress support.

For convenience the component of the machine which consists of themechanism for introducing the thread and tying the knots considered as aunit will be called the sti'tcher. and in the present example of the invention the stitcher comprises two similar sets-of cooperating stitchforming de-f f to the-stltcher and the top surface fabric ofthemattress, while the other acts in a The invention comprises the generalorganization of the machine as above indicated,

as well as various combinations of mechanismior performing thestitching, including knot-tying, operations as will be eX- plained inconnection with the embodiment of the invention shown in the accompanyin%drawings.

y having the machine the stitching is performed along both edges orcorners oi oneside of the mattress at a time, not only is the outputmore than double that of a machine capable of sewing only one corner ata'time, but the stresses on the mattress are balancedand there is nodistortion .such as results when one corner or edge of one side is.stitched before the other corner is stitched.

Stitching one cornerwhile the other corner remains unstitched producesdistortion of the side'of the mattress, and an unevenness in thedistribution of the stuffing material which are very diflicult toeliminate when the other corner is subsequently stitched.

It will facilitate the understanding of the machine to state that ingeneral the following terminology will be used.

The term blght'. indicatesa fold of the twine back against itself, thepart of indefinite length extending from a ball or sup v yond the foldthe ends of a comparatively short piece of ply to the fold being calledthe standing part and the shorter art terminating bebeing cal ed theend.

A loop is a complete turn of the end por tion of the twine and may beregarded as a rather open bight with the end crossing thestanding partof the twine.

A closed loop is merely an endless piece of material such as wouldresult from fastening a loop at the intersection of the endand standingpart, or from tying together twine. t I

Each stitch produced by the machine herein shown as an embodiment of theinvention; is a closed loop encircling a portion each of the side fabricand of the top or bottom fabfrom the needle holes in-the side fabric to"ric, as the case may be, between two needle holes, and also encirclingthe portion of the stufling lying between the side and top orbottomfabrics and between lines extending the corresponding needle holes inthe bottom or top fabric. 1 I Y While the stitch is made from a singletwine of indefinite length, the knotted loop, resulting from each cycleof stitch forming,

operations is cut off from the supply thread, leaving only the shortlength formingthe closed loop as the final twine component of positionsof the knot-tying devices'iwhich each stitch.

so organized that A weaveris knot may be used to tie together two endsof a short length of twine to form a closed loop, and such knot may beregarded as comprising a simple bight at one end, and a loop formed. ofthe other end around the standing part and end of said ,needle, at thefirst of which a bight is presented to the knotter, and at the second ofwhich the first bight which was presented to the knotter has beenconverted thereby into a loop, through which the bightpresented by theneedle at its second descent is passed, whereupon said loop, which thusencircles the standing part and end of the second bight, has itsendpassed through said. seco'id bight so as to complete the formation ofthe weavefis knot, after which a surplus which formed a part of the endof the first bight is cutoff and the standing portion of the secondbight is cut between the knot and; the needle leaving-a suflicientportion beyond the needle to serve as the end of the first. bight to bepresented by the needle for the production of the, next stitch.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is an end elevation on a reduced scale of a complete mattressside-stitching machine embodying this invention;

Fig. 2 a ,rear elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 an end elevation on a larger scale of the traveling stitchershowing a portion of thefx'ame work of the main machine, including thesupport or holder for the mattress in section;

Fig. 4 a sectional elevation on a still larger scaleof the stitcher,showing mainly only the components thereof embodied in the. stitchingmechanism which acts upon the lower corner of the mattress;

.Fig. 5 an enlarged sectional detail showing the needle and a portion ofthe cooper ating knot-tying mechanismin the position I occupied justaftenthe first advance of the needle through the material at thebeginning of a cyclev of .the operations comprised in a stitch forming,including'knot-tying, operation at one point on the corner of themattress;

Fig. '6 aperspective view of a portion of lOO izo

said devices in the same relative position as shown *in Fig. 5

Figs. 71 and 8 details showing successive are assumed between the firstand secondneedle dcscents in a complete cycle of operations;

Fig. 9 an elevation similar to that of Fig. 5, but with the parts in theposition occu pied at the second passage of the needle thil'pugh thematerial;

1 in Fig. 9 seen from with theneedle in the same position as in Fig. 9,but with some of the knotter parts in a different position;

Fig. 11 a representation of the same parts as in Fig. 10,'but in theposition occupied when the needle has traveled a short distance in thedirection to withdraw from the fabric;

Fig. 12 a view Figs. 10 and 1% tion assumed hen the needle has a outcompleted its movement of withdrawal from the material, there beingshown also a portion of the cutting mechanism by which the 10 arepresentation of the parts shown from the ame point as in twine is cutoff after the completeknotted,

loop or stitch has been made;

ig. 13 a section detail on line X of Fig. 12 of a portion of the threadclamping and pulling mechanism which cooperates in tightening the knotafter the twine presented to the knotter at the fir' t needle stroke hasbeen properly looped around and engaged with the bight presented at thesecond needle stroke for the formation of the knot as shown in Fig. 11;Fig. 14 is a sectional elevation on line X Fig. 3 showing the stitchingmechanism for the lower corner of the mattress mainly in elevation fromthe same view point as ,in Figs. 10 and 12, and a portion of thestitching mechanism for-the upper cornervof the mattress in section; i

Fig. 15 an end View of a portion of the knot-tyingmechanism thatcooperates with the needle; I

Fig. 16 a sectional detail of a poi-tu f thc-knotter;

Fig. 17 an enlarged sectional detail showing the knotter in elevationand adjacent parts of the mechanism; Y 1

Figs. 18, 19, 20, 21 details of the needle operating mechanism andcertain twine clamps cooperating therewith in the knottying operation; 7

Fig. 22, a longitudinal sectional detail of the knot-ter mechanism;

Figs. 23 and 24 details showing portions of the needle bar and itsactuating mechanism, and the mechanism for operating the clamp jawsofthe knottcr mechanism;

Figs. 25 and 26 sectional details showing a part of the clamp jawoperating devices of the knotter; a

Fig. 27 a: detail showing a portion bf the actuating mechanism forothetwine cutt rs;

and I a, different angle and with the parts in the osi- 'in its generalorganization comprises a table or holder 2 for the mattress 3 to beoperated upon, said table being mounted upon a suitable supporting frame4, adjacent to a supporting frame 5 for the principal working arts ofthe machine, which are located at tie rear, the operator in charge ofthe work standing at the opposite or front side where the varioushandles for controlling the apparatus are located.

On the main frame near the rear edge of the table a gaging flange orstop 6 is prostitutes an edge-gage for theside of the mattress when inproper position on the table to be sewn, and a clamping bar 7 isprovided for engaging the top of the mattress for its entire length at ashort distance from its edge,-directly over the edge of'the table 2 (seeFig. 3) to hold the same firmly during the stitching operation.

Said clamping bar 7 is shown as mounted in an elbow lever 8 'fulcrumedat) on the framework and connected by a link 10 with an operating lever11 fulcrumed at 12 on the framework and adapted to be moved by theoperator from the full to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1 torelease the mattress, andfrom the dotted to the full line position toclamp and hold the mattress.

after it has been properly placed in gaged connected with the clutchcontrol finger 18,

(see Fig. 28) which acts on a suitable clutch mechanism to effect thestarting or stoppmg of the machine at any time. I

The frame 5 at the rear of the machine (includes longitudinal beams 19which serve also as a track or guideway for the stitcher carriage 30which supports the mechanism of the stitcher and is shown'as providedwith wheels 31 to facilitate its movement along the guideway 19.

The said carriage 30 and mechanism supported thereon in. its entiretywill be referred to as the stitcher, and its mechanism includestwocomplete sets of stitching instrumentalities with actuating mechanismcommon to both,- whereby they are caused to operate concurrently, one atthe upper andthe other at the lower corner of the side of the mattressclamped on the table 2, as will readily be understood from Fig. 3.

\Vit-hout at this .point explaining the stitching forming operation indetail it should be understood that a complete cycle of operationscauses a single closed .loop of the twine to be formed with .ends tiedthe knot and the needle after stitching automatically,

- Fig. 28) havin upon by a projection 39 together by a weavers knot, andwith said loop'in'closing a little of the fabric of the side of themattress, and of the topor bot tom as the case may be, and of thestuffing of the mattress lying between these portions of the fabric.-Inthe formation of such complete knotted loop or stitch the needlemakes two descents or passages through the material, one at a littledistance from. the other, the portion of the fabric and material betweenthe needle holes being what is incloscd in or encircled by the knottedloop.

Such a knotted loop or stitch is complete in itself and the twine is cutoff between the-knot has, been tied tightly, and in order to make asuccession of such stitches along the side of the mattress presented tothe stitching mechanism, or to proceed with the side provision is madefor feeding the carriage 30 of thestitche'r intermittently between thesuccessivecom plete stitch cycles of operation, during each of which thesaid carriage remains stationary.

Still referring to Figs. 1 and'2 the working parts of the machine areall actuated from a main shaft 20, said'shaft having a driving pulley 21loose thereon, and adapted to be connected by a clutch 22, the detailsof which need not be described until later, with a cam 23, fast on shaft20, which acts upon a cam roller on the end of an arm 24: connected witha rock shaft 25, (see g twopawl carrying arms 26, 27 provided with pawls28, 29 (see Figs. 28, 29) which are adapted to act upon crown teeth on asprocket wheel 32 which actuates a chain 33 connected with the carriage30 and supported by another sprocket 34 at the other end of the frame(see Fig. 2).

A shifting device 35 best shown at the left hand in Fig. 2, and in Figs.28 and 29, causes one or the other of the pawls 28 29 to remain out ofreach of the teeth of the sprocket wheel 32, and as the said pawlsoperate in the same direction but at opposite sides of the centerof thesprocket they will cause the latter to be turned for the space of one ormore teeth in one or the other direction according as one or the otherof said pawls is in operation, and will thus produce a movement oradvance of the carriage in one or the other direction at a certain pointin the rotation of the cam 23 at a time when the stitching 'mechanism'has completed a cycle of operations and is with the needles withdrawnfrom the mattress.

The shifting or reversing device or yoke is connected with a rod 36extending the length of the frame parallel with the track 19 on whichthe carriage 30 travels and said rod is provided with adjustableengaging blocks or tappets 37, 38 adapted tobe acted from the1carriage30 when it arrives at the proper position to complete a line ofst-itc-hing along oneside I of the mattress.

with the Parts in the P n shown in right as seen in Fig. 2, and when theprojection 39 arrives at the tappe't 38 it moves I the same so as tomove the yoke35 to a position'to cause the pawl 28 to stop operating andto release the pawl 29, and the projection, 40 of theyoke 35 (see Fig.28), en-' gages the arm 180 connected with the finger 18, and moves itto position to cause the clutch 22 to bedisengaged, so that the cam 23and shaft 20 are stopped from operating and the action of the machineautomatically ceases when the end of'the side stitching along one sideof the mattress is reached. 8

As the stit her is stationary during the formation of each completeknotted loop or stitch, it is immaterial in which direct-ion 'the feedtakes place from one stitch to the next; and in order to save time afterthe stitching has been completed in one direction, say from leftto rightin Fig. 2, the mattress is unclamped and turned by the operator and theside next to be operated upon (or the side of another mattress if onehas justbeen completed) in afmovement of the carriage from right toleft. i Y In order to facilitate the movement of the carriage 30independently of the automatic feed just described, a hand operated feedwheel320 (see Fig. 1) is provided, preferis then stitched ably locatednear the middle of the machine, which is connected, by shaft" 321,sprocket wheel 322, and chain 323 with a sprocket wheel 324 fixed on thesame shaft as the pawl operated sprocket wheel 32 above described, sothat the operator by turning the wheel 320 when the pawls aredisengaged, or by turning it'in the direction permitted. by the pawl, ifone is engaged, the'carriage may be moved along to the de:ired' positiontrack.

on its supporting to the stitching mechanism,

Referrin now the genera tive to the material operated upon is best shownin Fig. 3. I

To avoid possible ambiguity the entire mechanism which acts upon thetwine in applying, it'to the mattress will be called the stitching.111echanism,'and inasmuch as the instrumentalities,which operate at theu )pcr corner are substantially the same as tliosc that act at thelowercorner of the mattress, the detailed description will be confinedllO organization of the partsrelamainly. to the mechanism which actsupon the lower corner, from which thepperation of the mechanism whichacts at the upper corner will be readily understood.

The stitching mechanism for acting upon one corner of the mattress,taking or example the lower corner, comprises a needle 100 whichpenetrates first the lower surface fabric and then passes diagonallyupward and emerges with the twin-e from the side surface-fabric; andappliances (which will be referred to collectively, or as a unit, as theknotter) which act upon the twine after it has emerged from the side ofthe mattress in cooperation with the needle, to hold the blght presentedat the first penetration of the needle and cause it to be properlyengaged with or tied to the bight which is presented at the secondpenetration of the needle slightly to one side of the place at which theneedle first penetrated.

Although in the actual location in the machine the needle which acts atthe lower corner of the mattress penetrates with a diagonally upwardmovement, the penetrating movement ofthe needlewi'll be referred to asthe descent, and the withdrawal movement as the rise of the needle, asthese terms are commonly used with various sewing mechanisms, and eachcomplete knotted loop will be referred to as a stitch, and a completerow of such stitches along the corner of the mattress will be calledaseam, although the twine is not continuous from one stitch to the nextas in a common sewn seam.

Referring to Fig. 3 the entire stitching mechanism is actuated by ahollow cam shaft.

supported in suitable bearings at the ends of the carriage 30, saidhollow shaft 50 having a spline connection at 51 with the main shaft 20so that the cam shaft 50 turns in unison with the main driving shaft 20,when driven by the pulley 21 and clutch 22, whil e being free to move toany desired position along the said driving shaft 20.

The principal working parts of the stitching mechanism are mounted upona frame of suitable form and. construction comprising a supporting arm61 having a. piv

otal support at 62 in a bearing afiixed to the lower part of thecarriage 30, the purpose being that the entire stitching mechanism andits supporting frame may have a slight. rocking movement on the pivotalsupport 62 which, being directly below the side of the mattress, causesa movement of the 1 entire sewing mechanism toward and from the side ofthe mattress.

This causes pressers or work supports 63, 64 affixed to the frame 60 tobe prersed inward so as to indent the side of the mattress when in theposition shown in Fig. 3, which is the position occupied when thestitches are being made, and to be sl ghtly withdrawn from this positionoutwarr when the feed of the carriage and sti-tchin;= aechanism is totake p'ace.

This rocking movement of the stitching mechanism is produced by the cam52 act jug upon a roller 53 on the arm 61, the con- I figuration of thecam being such as to hold the pressers (i3, 64 against the work duringthe greater part of each rotation of the cam shaft, but to permit themto be withdrawn slightly during a small fraction of each rotation of themain shaft, at which time the projection of the feed cam 23 operates toadvance the carriage to the position for the next stitch, as abovedescribed.

This slight rocking movement of the main frame of the stitchingmechanism does not materially affect the action of the cams on the camshaft 50 upon the connecting mechanism by which said cams serve toactuate the various parts of the stitching mechanism in proper timedrelation to one another, substantially all of the working movementstaking place while the frame 6-0 is in its forward position and with thepressers 63,64 holding the mattress material pro erly for the stitchforming operations, an serving as the usual table or work support to actas an abutment for the material while the needle penetrates it-Cooperating with each of the work su porting pressers 63, 6-1 whichsupport t e material against the thrust of the needles near where theyemerge is a movable presser foot, that of the mechanism at the lowercorner alone being marked 65, which descends or moves toward thematerial to come press and clamp it against the cooperating work support63 before the needle descends the first time, and retains it thus clamed until just before the feed movement ta es place when said presserfoot is lifted and at the same time the work support 63 is moved outwardby the action of the cam 52 as above describe As will be readilyunderstood by reference to Fig. 3, the action of the work supportingpresser and presser foot at the lower corner and that at the uppercorner balance one another and produce substantially e ual compressionof the stuffing material at t e upper and lower corners, and maintainthe side of the mattress in its proper, relation sub stantially squarewith both the upper and lower surfaces of the mattress. The formation ofthe stitches at both upper and lower corners while the material is thusheld retains the material in the desired balanced condition with theside of the mattress square with the top and bottom, a result thatwouldnot be attained if only the upper or lower corner was acted upon in onesewing operation, and the mattress had to be released and repositionedon its supportin table before the other corner was stitche As it isunnecessary to describe in detail but one of the sets of stitch makingappliances, reference maybest be had now, to

' the needle bar of the Fig. 4 which shows the mechanism acting upon thelower corner of the mattress on a larger scale than in Fig. 3.

Said resser foot 65 is rod 66 having collars engaged by a fork at oneend of a lever 67 fulcrumed on the framework at 68 and having its otherend provided with a cam roller to be actuated by a groove in the cam 52on the cam shaft 50, which lifts the presser foot at the time when thefeed cam 23 acts to feed the stitcher carriage to the position for thenext stitch, as before described. The needle 100 (see Fig. 3) isconnected by an arm 71 with a needle bar 72 adapted connected with a tomove longitudinally in suitable bearing guides in the frame 60 andconnected by a link 73 with an arm 74 on a rock shaft having itsbearings in the carriage 30 and con nected with another arm 7 5 having acam roller operating in a groove in cam 56 which is constructed with twothrows to cause the needle to make two descents at each rotation of thecam shaft 50 which efiects one complete cycle of stitch formingoperations or makes one stitch of the seam, the said cam groove havingthe proper configuration to effect such dwells or timing in themovementsof the needle as will cause it to cooperate properly with theknotter and other instrumentalities involved in the stitch makingoperation. 4

The rock 'shaft. to which'the arms 75 and 74: are afiixed hasanother arm740 corresponding to 74, connected by a link with stitching mechanismfor the upper corner of the mattress as will be readily seen in Fig. 3without need of designating characters, 'which are consequently omittedin Fig. 3'where both stitching mechanisms are shown.

For the production of the stitch employed in the present embodiment ofthe invention it 'is necessary that the needle should make a slightlateral movement between its two successive descents so as to penetratethe material the second time at a .shortdistance from" the place of thefirst penetration, the

material lyingbet-Ween the two lines of penetration being what isencircled by the loop of twine pertaining to the stitch.

To provide for such lateral movement of the needle as shown in thepresent embodiment of the invention the needle bar 72 is adapted=to-have a slight pivotal or rotary movement in the guides in which itreciprocates, such movement being accommodated in the connection betweenthe link 73 and the needle bar as shown in the enlarged detail Figs. 23,24, and such oscillation of theme- I dle bar in one direction after itsfirst rise from the fabric, and in the other direction after its secondrise, is'efiected by the con- -struction best shown in the detailed viewFigs. 17 and 18..-

The boss on the needle bar with which the link 73 is connected isprovided with a projection 77 (see also Fig. 23) which travels in aguide in a' plate or bar 78 having at its ends inclined guiding portions79 adapted to move longitudinally in suitable guideways in the movementthus resulting in a short lateral frame 60, such longitudinal movementof the plate 78 which by the projection 77 causes a slight rocking ofthe needle bar 72 and a considerably larger'lateral movement or shoggingof the needle because it is carried by its arm 71 at a considerabledistance from the axis of the needle bar.

The slight longitudinal movement of the plate 78 necessary to eii'ectsuch lateral movementof the needle bar is produced by a short rack 80(see Fig. 4) engaged by a toothed segment on a cam lever 81 operating ina groove in the cam 52 whichproduces'a movement. of the plate 7 SMneedle shog'ger in one direction about as the needle completes its firstrise from the material and in the other direction about 'as the needlecompletes its next rise from the mate-- rial, the plate remainingstationary during substantially the whole of each complete down and upstroke of the needle.

The work support 63 and presser foot 65 each have two guide passages forthe needle, as best shown in the sectional details Figs. 7 and 8, with aslot connecting them'suflicient for the passage of the twine as shown inFigs. 10 and 17 the needle thus being supported and guided close to itspoint of entrance and emergence. a Referrmg now to the instrumentalitiesthe twine to form the stitch, after which the connecting mechanism bywhich the several instrumentalities areactuated in proper time andrelation to one another will be described. t

For-convenience the complete set of instrumentalities which cooperatewith the' needle and twine where the needle emerges from the fabricregarded as a unit will be called the knotter, and saidinstrumentalities for the most part are mounted on or in the body piece101 which is mainly cylindrical in form' and is mounted for rotarymove-' ment in a.bearing in the framework 60 as appears in the sectionalview Fig. 4.

The devices which cooperatemozt directly I with the. twlne are containedin .a. tubular portion 102 (see Fig 4)- and on a sleeve -103 mounted torotate on said tubular portion 102 as a be'aring said tube 102 beingfixed in an -eccentr1c position in the knotter body 101 so that arotation (in this case a quarter .turn) of the latter-shifts the tube Iand parts contained in and carried thereby laterally and at the sametime produces a rotary change of position of the tube and partscontained in it for a quarter turn as will be understood by comparingFigs. 7 and 8, such movement having shifted the axis of the tube 102from a position in line with tlieneedle at one descent to the posi--t-ion in which the needle makes its next:

descent.

As is well shown in Fig. 4 and on a larger scale in Fig. 1.2 the worksupport (33 and the shank or bracket by which it is rigidly connectedtothe frame (i0 are formed with an opening between themsuti'icicut toaccommodate all of the movements of the knotter mechanism.

. As shown in Fig. 5 at the first descent of the needle (which is an eyepointed needle of the usual kind) a bight or hitch of the twine iscarried through and beyond the material, the fold being at the needleeye, and the standing part 111 of the twine leading back to the spool orsupply through suitable guides and controlling devices which will bedescribed later, while the end part 112 of the bight is long enough toremain in the material of the mattress which in connection with the worksupport 63 holds the end with friction sufficient to produce a slighttension if pulled upon.

The first descent of the needle is at. the right hand one oftheguideways In the presser foot and work support as seen in .-'Figs. 7and 8, and at the time of the first descent the knotter body stands inthe position shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 in which a pairof twine grippingjaws 120, 121' stand slightly apart so that the needle carries the endtwine 112 of the bight directly over the slight space betwene the jaws120, 121., of the gripper which at this moment are slightly apart, andpreferably after the needle has started slightly on its rise to theposition'show-n in F ig. (5 so thatthe end thread 112 is loosened andthrown slightly away from the needle, said jaws grip the end twine andhold it firmly while the .needle completes its rise thus bringing thetwine to the condition shown in Fig. 7 in which the 'end portion 112 ofthe bight is held by the gripper while the standing portion 111 is drawnback above-the gripper jaws although perfectly free from them.

After the end part 112 ofthe twine has been thus seized by the jaws ofthe gripper an end controlling finger or hook 122, the form and actionof which is best shown i n Fig. 9, on the sleeve 103 makes a slightmovement suflicient to engage the end part 112 between the pointswhcreit is held by the gripper jaws and where it emerges from thematerial. 'The end part 112 of the first bight ot the twine having beenthus seized by the gripper jaws and engaged by the controlling finger122 of the knotter; the knotter body is then rotated from the positionshown in Fig. 7 to that shown in Fig. 8, in which of the tube 102 fromthe point Where the.

end emerged from the jaws in the position shown in Fig. 7 to the linger122,,about which a bight is formed, the extreme end of the twine havingbeen thus pulled nearly or quite free from the material and Work holderas shown in Fig. 8.

The standing part 111 of the thread extends almost directly from thegripper jaws to the fabric in the first needle hole, or one shown at theright hand in Figs. 7 and 8.

In this movementthe first. bight presented by the needle has beenconverted into a loop with the part 111 crossing over the part 112, andthe portion 113 of the loop of twine which is wrapped around the tube102 lies just above a loop spreader consisting of two fingers 124, oneat each side of the groove 123.

The knotter parts beingin the position shown in Fig. 8, the needleinakes its next descent as shown in Fig. 9 and just before the point ofthe needle arrives at the gripper jaws the fingers of the loop spreader124 are momentarily raised and thus lift the portion 113 of the twine sothat the needle passes between it and the end of the aws, the needle inits further movement passing over the portion of the thread stillgripped in the jaws so that a new or second bigbt of the twine has beenpassed through the loop formed from the light of the twine presented tothe knotter atithe first needle descent. Directly after the needle haspassed under thetwine at 113 the fingers 124 descend to their normalposition and free the portion 113 of the twine, which now becomespractically free from where it emerges from the jaws (at the left' handin Fig. 8) to where it is engaged by the finger 122 and lies loose overthe second bightof the needle twine. The jaws 120, 121, of the gripperalso release the twine, leaving the loop loose around the second bight.

\Vith the parts in the position shown in Fig.9 and preferably after theneedle has risen slightly to slacken the twine, the sleeve 103 makes afurther rotary movement, in which a bight spreading finger 125 passesbetween the needle and the end twine 115 of the second bight and spreadsthe said bight so that the finger 122 and bight of liNl therein ispassed entirely through the second bight at 115, and the extreme end ofthe twine is drawn free from the material and work support and is inposition to be seized by the jaws of a puller or knot tightener 130 asshown in Fig. 10. A stop projection or retarder 126 on the jaw 121prevents the second bight from being dragged along by the bight spreader125, and the end of twine which is being passed through the bight by thefinger 122. I

The end twine 112 presented to the knotter by the first descent and riseof the needle, has thus been looped around and passed through the bightpresented at the second needle descent, in proper relation to tie thesaid end to the said bight with the well known weavers knot and itremains only to draw the knot tight and to cut off any excess twine atthe free end and to cut off the standing twine between the knot and theneedle in such manner as to leave a free end extending from the needleof suiiicient length for the end part of the first bight formed b thefirst needle, descent at the next stitc ing forming operation.

These operations of tightening the knot and cutting the twine and theparts concerned therein are best illustrated in Figs. 10 to 13inclusive, and Fig. 17 and comprise the knot tightener, marked as awhole 130, including a pair of jaws, the lower member 131 of which ispivotally mounted on a bracket 133 aflixed to a rock shaft 134, byturning which the free end of the jaws may be given a movement fromclose to the knotter devices as shown in Fig. 10 outward to the positionshown in Fig. 11, in which movement the end 112 of the first bight oftwine,

' which by the operations above described has been looped around andthen passed through the second bight 115 as shown in Fig. 11, is

properly tightened in conjunction with the rise of the needle from theposition shown in Fig. 10, to that shown in Fig. 11 which takes up orshortens the bight 115, and as the needle continues to rise and thetension on the end 11.2'is maintained by the puller 130 the knot isfinally drawn tight and pulled through the needle hole into the stuttingof the mattress as appears in Fig. 12, thus having produced a completeendless loop of the twine, which encircles within it small portions ofthe bottom and side covering fabrics and the portion of the stuttinglying between them. A 3

The end 112 held by the tightening device 130 and the standing twine 118between the knot and the needle, which now stands at some distance fromthe prcsser foot (35 and material, are then cut oti' by cutters 150'working in guideways in, the work support 63 and presser foot 65 acrossthe second needle guideway, said cutters being operated 'by actuatingmechanism which will 1e,sss

be describedlater, with a quick movement.

to sever the twine, about at the time that the needle completes its riseafter the stitch of the twine by said spring 136. The upper jaw 132 ispivoted to the lower jaw at 138 and is acted upon by a spring 139 (seeFig. 17) which normally tends to close the jaws upon the twine, theybeing however normally held apart by a catch or trigger 140 (see Fig.13), which is tripped just after the knotter devices arrive at theposition shown in Fig. 10, so that the end 112 of the twine which hasjust been brought by the rotation of the sleeve 103 to the positionshown in Fig. 10 just over the lower jaw 131 is snapped upon andgrip'ped'by the action of the spring 139 on the release of the upper jawby the disengagement of the trigger 140.

When the end of the twine has been cut as above described the puller 130is moved promptly by the spring 136 against the stop 137. and bracket133 a finger or projection 141 on the upper aw member near its pivotstrikes a fixed jaw opening stop 1412 as will be understood from Fig. 12which causes the upper jaw member to be lifted so that the trigger 14-0catches beneath it and holds it open until tripped at the nextoperation. The natural expansion of the mattress, when relieved from thepressure of the presser foot and work support causes the loose ends oftwine to disappear inside of the mattresscovering fabric.

This tripping of the upper jaw of the twine puller is effected by aprojection 143 carried by the actuating annulus 104 for the sleeve 103of the knotter, which will be re ferred to later, which projectionengages the trigger at the end of the movement by which the end of thetwine has been pushed through the second needle bight as shown in Fig.10, so that the jaws close just at the moment when the end of the twineis presented to them by the action of the finger 122, directlyafterwhich the sleeve 103 makes its return movement to the position shown inFig. 11 which trees the end engaged by the finger 122 and also withdrawssaid finger and the loop spreader 125 from the second bight, leavingsaid bight free to tighten with the loop made from the first bight aswell shown in Fig. 11.

In addition to the needle and parts of the in a further movement of theshown in Fig. 12; these tension or twine gripping devices being mainlyshown in Figs. 18*to 21 inclusive, the detailed description of which isdeferred until after the description of the mechanical connections bywhich the various instrumentalities of the knotter mechanism which havealready been described are actuated to perform the required movements inproper timed relation to one another and to the movements of the needle.

For moving the knot ti htener 130 to pull up the knot the rock sha t 134on which the bracket 133 is mounted and which'has its hearings in theframe 60 is provided with an arm,145 adapted to be operated by asuitable cam plate 146 on the cam disk "5 .(see Figs. 17 and 27).

The mechanism for turning the body portion 101 of the knotter from theposition shown in Fig. 7 to that shown in Fig. 8 is effected by thesegmental gear 105 best shown in Fig. 17, fixed to or forming a part ofthe said knotter body 101 and actuated by the segmental gear 83 on thelever 81,

teeth 82 engaging with the rack 80 operates to shift the plate 78 bwhich the lateral or sho ging movement 0 the needle is effected.

T e movement of the lever 81 in one direction takes place when theneedle has r sen after the first stroke, and shifts the looper' body andparts carried by it from the position shown in Fig. 7 to that shown inFig.

8 at the same time that the plate 78 is' moved to shift the needle. tothe position for its next stroke, and the return movement of the lever81 by which the knotter body is moved back from the position shown inFig. 8 to that shown in Fig. 7 takes place about as the needle completesits rise from the material at the end of the secondneedle stroke, and.at the same time the plate 78 is shifted back, retu rnin the needle tothe proper position for the first stroke of the next stitch.

The jaws 120, 121 of the gripper are operated by the mechanism bestshown in Figs. 22 to 26. Referring to Fig. 22, the jaw'121 is fixed inthe tube 102, the opening and closing movement of the 'jawsibeingconfined to the jaw 120 which is shown in Fig. 22 in the open position.The movable jaw 120 is formed at the end of a lever 620 fulcrumed at 621in the tube 102 and connected at its end remote from the jaw, with a jawactuating slide 622 adapted to work in a transverse guideway-in the tube102 and being slightly longer than the outside diameter of the tube sothat when one end is flush with the outside of the tube the other' endprojects slightly therefrom.

by pressing-the projecting end of the bar.

622 inward to a point flush with the outside of the tube the jaw 120will be closed toward the jaw 121 and the other, end of the bar 622 willproject from the other side of the tube, and the reverse movement of thebar 622 back to the position shown in Fig. 22 will then cause theopening or separation of the jaws.

These movements of the jaw operating bar 622 are performed at the pro ertime by a cam ring 623 best shown in igs. 25 and 26, which encircles andis ada ted to turn on the tube 102 as a bearing an is rovided withinternal cam recesses 624 w 'ch are not diametrically opposite tooneanother, and thus cause the bar 622 to be shifted from one to the otherpositionjo open or close the jaws as'shown in Figs.

25, 26 b a comparatively short rotary move 24) mounted on a rod 627adapted to slide in a suitable guide way connected with the frame 60 andprovided with a hub, or block 628 engaged with an arm 629 on a rockshaft provided with an arm 630 operated by suitable projections 631 onthe cam disk 55.

The cam block 626 isfirst operated when the knotter body is in theposition shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 23, just as the needle begins to riseafter its first descent, and by engaging the projection 625 when in the,position shown in Fig. 23 moves it from the position shown in Fig. 25 tothat shown in Fig. 26. and turns the ring 623 so as to cause the jawsto-close so that they grip the end portion of the bight of twine whichhas ust i been laid between them by the needle.

The knotter body is then shifted from the position shown in Fig. 7 tothat shown in Fig. 8 as before described, the cam ring ,623 movin withit to the ition shown in Fig. 24, being frictionally eld relatively tothe tube and having no further action on the jaw operating bar 622 sothat the jaws remain closed. Then at or near-the end of the secondneedle descent (after it has passed the bight through the loop) the camblock 626 is again 0 rated in the same direction as before, but y r asonof the changed p0- sitionof. the projection 625 of the rm 623 it turnsthe said ring'in the opposite irection, or from the position relative tothe bar 622 shown in Fig. 26 to that shown in Fig. 25, and thusseparates the jaws 'to release the loop after the needle has been.properly Ill

